A new study by Nielsen, the TV ratings people, and SocialGuide has discovered a close correlation between the number of tweets a particular TV show generates on Twitter and its all-important ratings, which can influence everything from investment in the show to it being cancelled.

Twitter’s not alone in influencing ratings, of course, and ad spend and prior ratings of course impact on the numbers–but the fact that Twitter is also on the same level is an important fact. In particular, SocialGuide considers Twitter an influencer in this relationship rather than merely reflecting ratings, which means chatter on Twitter can actually impact the rating figure.